15+ Eastern European Capitals That No One Thinks To Visit – So Go Now!

Prague is one of the prettiest cities on the planet, and it has become very popular to visit in the last ten years. We've been many, many times since we only lived two hours from the city. We'd go in just for a good meal sometimes, because Czech food is amazing.

There's something super special about the Charles Bridge and the old city of Prague and its medieval spires. There are so many beautiful buildings, great museums, and did I mention fantastic restaurants? You just can't go wrong.

Prague is not the only gem of the Czech Republic. It's a fantastic country to visit with lots to do, great festivals, and the best beer in the world.

Check out these Czech articles we've written:
Beer Spas
Kutna Hora- Bone Church
Pilsner Urquell Beer Factory
Brno, The Second Largest City
UNESCO Sites: Holaslovice or Telc

Best History Site: National Museum
Great Art Museum: National Gallery Prague
Favorite Restaurant: U Fleku

Budapest... what a city! This is one of those places that I return to over and over again. I've been in winter and summer, and it's great all the time!

One of the many things that makes it such a draw is the beautiful Danube River which separates the city into two sides, Buda and Pest. The river bank is where you can see iconic sights like the Parliament Building or get a great view of the castle.

With its long and varied history, there is plenty to see and do in Budapest. Some of our favorites are taking a cooking lesson, visiting the central market, stopping by a ruin bar, and of course taking some time to relax in the many baths.

Check out these articles we've written on Budapest:
Gellert Spa and Bath
Making Chicken Paprikash
Taking a Ride on the Children's Railroad

Best History Site: Budapest History Museum - Castle
Great Art Museum: Museum of Fine Arts
Favorite Restaurant: Mazel Tov

Tallinn is one of the cities that really has been growing in popularity in the last few years. It is a small city, very walkable, and there is plenty to do. We enjoyed many of the museums, some tucked right into the wall towers, as well as the amazing food that they have to offer. Tallinn, more than most, celebrates their link to the Middle Ages with costumes, pubs, and people dressed up wandering the streets.

We had so much fun in this small city. We were there in winter, and it didn’t slow us down one bit. I’m sure it’s even more beautiful during the warmer months. We loved seeing all the sights  of Tallinn, but we also did one other very cool thing that I’ve never heard of before, and that was finding out all about the history of marzipan, then making it and painting it

Best History Site: Fat Margaret Maritime Museum
Great Art Museum: Kumu Art Museum
Favorite Restaurant: Rataskaevu 16

From Tallinn we were fortunate enough to visit another amazing city, Helsinki. We discovered that Helsinki is cold.  Very cold. We visited in winter, but sometimes I feel that you should go to a place when it’s the hardest. Needless to say, we had a little bit of time getting used to the bitter cold, but of course the locals are used to winter, and we saw folks swimming in the heated, seaside pools while we were bundled from head to toe. Along with the list of mandatory Helsinki tourist sites, we also warmed up in cafe after cafe. All of them were chic and cozy.

Best History Site:  National Museum of Finland
Great Art Museum: Ateneum Art Museum
Favorite Restaurant: Olo Ravintola

Stunning golden domes highlight the city scape of Kiev. We were ecstatic to visit the capital of Ukraine. We'd heard so much about it. This is a city that welcomes foreigners and has a vibrant cafe and restaurant scene. It was fun to see the many gorgeous sites and well as find some great places to eat and hang out for awhile.

We toured quite a bit while we were in Kiev, because from world heritage sites to amazing museums, we just couldn't stop. There was so much to see. Of course one of our best tours was the cooking lesson where we made varenyky (dumplings) and the national dish of borscht.

Best History Site: Ukrainian Treasures Museum
Great Art Museum: National Art Museum of Ukraine
Favorite Restaurant: Ostannya Barykada

We visited this beautiful capital city on Sunday, which is always a good day to see what locals do. We walked around a flea market and joined the throngs of folks visiting the castle for lunch and shopping. With the Sava River running right through town, there are cafes, bakeries, and restaurants galore. We walked, gawked, and ate all day. Not only is Ljubljana a great destination, it’s also a fantastic jumping off point to a bunch of other amazing natural sights in Slovenia.

Here are some of our favorite posts in and not far from Ljubljana:
Ljubljana Milk Machine
Three Best Ways to Experience Lake Bled
Three Natural Excursion Day Trips Around Lake Bled
Skocjan Caves

Best History Site:  National Museum of Contemporary History
Great Art Museum: National Gallery
Favorite Restaurant: Restavracija Strelec, in the Ljubljana castle

We’ve been to Sofia twice; that’s how much we love it. Of all the cities we’ve visited, this one has many Ottoman and Byzantine remnants and churches that are so intriguing to visit. That with the amazing Bulgarian food, you can’t go wrong. We’ve spent lots of time in Bulgaria, and again that’s because we’ve enjoyed the interactions with the local people as well as all of the amazing food they serve. We took a week long road trip through the country, and just like we imagined, Sofia wasn’t anything like the rest of the country.

Here are some of the best posts we’ve written on this amazing destination:
Bularia Food Guide
7 Reasons We Can't Wait to Go Back to Bulgaria
Things to do in Plovdiv

Best History Site: National Institute of Archaeology with Museum
Great Art Museum: Museum of Socialist Art
Favorite Restaurant: Restaurant Shtastliveca

Another winter foray into the east, this time we visited some teachers on an exchange and went to Kaunas and Trakai Castle in Lithuania gets extremely cold. We spent only a day in Vilnius but the stark and dreary weather just accentuated all the great things to do, since a lot of them revolve around the Soviet era. Great museums and beautiful architecture greet you on every street. The part we enjoyed the most was getting to know our hosts, drinking coffee, sharing the national snack and eating a special Lithuanian Apple Cake. 

Best History Site: Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, National Museum
Great Art Museum: National Art Gallery
Favorite Restaurant: Berneliu Uzeiga

We spent a weekend in Riga, at the end of fall so it was getting cool. Luckily, we were led around by a small group of locals, showing us things we might have discovered on our own but didn’t have to. We weren’t on a walking tour, but it’s one reason to take those free walking tours when you get to a city, you will always learn and see something you would have missed. Riga is also a medieval city, recognized by UNESCO, and it is gorgeous. We can’t wait to go back.

Best History Site: KGB Building File No. 1914/2014
Great Art Museum: Latvian National Museum of Art
Favorite Restaurant: Muusu

Bucharest is fun! With a lively downtown area, people were lounging, eating, drinking, and having a merry time all day and all night long. The beautiful downtown area had a lot to do, eat, and drink. While we were there, people were outside drinking coffee, chatting, and smiling. There was lots of smiling.

There is plenty to do in Romania, not just Bucharest. We took a short road trip on the Transfagarsan Highway, visited Sighisoara, home of Vlad the Impaler, and even visited some world heritage site churches along the way.

Best History Site: The National History Museum of Romania
Great Art Museum: The National Museum of Art of Romania
Favorite Restaurant: Vatra

Skopje is really trying to renovate and update. As we walked around the downtown areas, full of statues, flower beds, flowers, cafes, museums, and old bazaars we noticed such an eclectic mix of old and new. It’s a city in flux, and it’s working hard to attract tourists. We loved the completely different vibe it gave off as opposed to all of the other capitals we visited. We also loved the amazing food.

Best History Site:  Archaeological Museum of Macedonia
Great Art Museum: Contemporary Art Museum of Macedonia
Favorite Restaurant: Skopski Merak

Minsk was a surprise. We expected it to feel Russian-like as they still maintain very good relations with its patron to the north. However, we didn't know how much it would feel Russian. The huge, wide streets had few cars. The buildings were gigantic, sprawling block complexes. It was amazing. It was one of the few places I've been that I really feel like I'm really traveling and experiencing something new.

We thoroughly enjoyed our full five days in Belarus and Minsk was a great city to explore.

Best History Site: Belarusian National History and Culture Museum
Great Art Museum: National Centre for Contemporary Arts
Favorite Restaurant: Kuhmistr

Belgrade isn’t quite as bright and shiny as some of the other Eastern European capitals, but as you walk along the main pedestrian street you are captivated by the sunken book shops, the hipster cafes, and it’s not hard to imagine how bleak life was only a couple of decades ago. Luckily while we were there in mid-summer the sun was shining, we walked all over, loved seeing all the major sights, eating in the cool cafes, and the highlight of our trip was the Tesla Museum. Who would have thought?

Best History Site : Museum of Yugoslav History
Must-do Art Museum: Galerija STAB
Favorite Restaurant: Zavicaj Restaurant

Bratislava is located in a great triangle of cities to include Budapest and Vienna. The downtown area is colorful, vibrant, and full of things to do. It's well worth a day trip. It doesn't take long to see the sights of this small capital city, but just because it's small doesn't mean it doesn't have plenty to share.

We loved the busy downtown, and we've even visited in winter when the Christmas market is in full swing. It was lovely.

Best History Site: Bratislava City Museum
Great Art Museum: Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum
Favorite Restaurant: Bratislavsky Mestiansky pivovar

Yerevan, on the far reaches of Eastern Europe, is a huge city in Armenia. We spent a few days here exploring the old town area, and really loving the food. Some things to see are the Cascade, Republic Square, and the Armenian Genocide Memorial.

Best History Site: History Museum of Armenia
Great Art Museum: National Gallery of Armenia
Favorite Restaurant: Lavash Restaurant

When we visited Tbilisi, we had a feeling we'd stepped back in time. We loved having a bath at the old hamam and visiting the mosques, bridges, and cafes in the city. There definitely was plenty to do to keep us happy and busy.

While there we rented a car and did some exploring outside of the city as well. One of our favorite roads to drive was the Military Road which connects Tbilisi to Russia, and along the way we found a very cool souvenir, and even took a dumpling cooking lesson.

Even though we only spent one weekend there, we rented a car and saw quite a bit. Kosovo was a surprise for us. We enjoyed the sights, people, and the amazing food.

Best History Site: Pec Monastery
Great Museum: Archaeology Museum of Kosovo
Favorite Restaurant: Liburnia Restaurant in Pristina